Cube dust - just clean it

[blindfold cube]

Hey everyone, I have a question. I always have black dust on the inside of my cube. I clean out my cube piece by piece and a week of speedcubing later, the black dust comes back. I am aware that some silicone based lubricants are the cause of the black dust. I was wondering if there is a way to lessen or prevent the black dust from formng inside my cube. It is anoying because it slows down my cube. Is there anything i can do?

Thanks

 

[deathbypapercutz]

I have the dust problem too, although I haven't checked how fast it builds up. I even have black dust in my white cube... Just... suck it up and clean it every so often?

 

[blindfold cube]

I have the dust problem too, although I haven't checked how fast it builds up. I even have black dust in my white cube... Just... suck it up and clean it every so often?

Is that the only solution?

 

[chue.hsien]

my friend told me that the black dust is the result of the washer cutting/grinding into the screw.. you guys are using DIYs right? my green face middle piece also has this problem.

 

[Radu]

my friend told me that the black dust is the result of the washer cutting/grinding into the screw

yeah that's right. at least this is what i noticed too. the black dust is actually very fine milled plastic. you won't find black dust on a white diy

 

[deathbypapercutz]

the black dust is actually very fine milled plastic. you won't find black dust on a white diy

Hmm, maybe it's not from the screw? I take my cubes to school in my backpack. Kind of grungy and dusty in there

 

[VooX]

Removing Dust

There is dirt which is coarse and black which gets in your cube. There is also the dust caused by the plastic rubbing on plastic.

Given that this will never stop happening, maintenance is the best solution. Occasionally I take my cube apart and wipe it with a microfibre cloth. These cloths are the thicker ones you can use to wipe eyeglasses or computer screens with.

After a good wiping, I lube my cube with a liquid silicone fluid. I pop an edge, fill the small hole halfway with lube, and work it in. I repeat with an edge on an opposite side of the cube.

Silicone seals the very small pores in plastic. A thin film also builds on the outside of the plastic and leaves a very smooth surface. When every piece is smooth like this your cube will turn great.

Depending on how often you cube, and how you carry your cube, you may need to this fairly often to keep your cube smooth and quick.

VooX

 

[Radu]

There is dirt which is coarse and black which gets in your cube. There is also the dust caused by the plastic rubbing on plastic.

Given that this will never stop happening, maintenance is the best solution. Occasionally I take my cube apart and wipe it with a microfibre cloth. These cloths are the thicker ones you can use to wipe eyeglasses or computer screens with.

After a good wiping, I lube my cube with a liquid silicone fluid. I pop an edge, fill the small hole halfway with lube, and work it in. I repeat with an edge on an opposite side of the cube.

Silicone seals the very small pores in plastic. A thin film also builds on the outside of the plastic and leaves a very smooth surface. When every piece is smooth like this your cube will turn great.

Depending on how often you cube, and how you carry your cube, you may need to this fairly often to keep your cube smooth and quick.

VooX

that's right. but it happened to me that after lubing...i got a too smooth cube. i couldn't control it anymore. i don't know if this happened to others. maybe i don't like too loose cubes.

 

[Demon Parasite]

just pop off the center caps and tighten it then. since it's too smooth, i'm assuming it's a DIY

 

[Radu]

just pop off the center caps and tighten it then. since it's too smooth, i'm assuming it's a DIY

i know. but if i tighten it too much, then it will lock up more often. it's a balance between these two. if the screw it's too tight, then the cube gets locked up if the "cuttings" are not perfectly matched. anyway...imo the cube is best after a week since it was cubed and worked out a bit

 

[Pedro]

my friend told me that the black dust is the result of the washer cutting/grinding into the screw

yeah that's right. at least this is what i noticed too. the black dust is actually very fine milled plastic. you won't find black dust on a white diy

actually I get black dust in my white DIY from rubiks.com (the one with flat centers)

 

[Joemamma556]

Best way to clean Cube dust?

Any suggestions?

 

[koreancuber]

with a wet cloth

 

[JeffDelucia]

Wet cloth/sock/dishwasher

 

[Chapuunka]

Acid.

[/sarcasm]

 

[koreancuber]

/sock/

that's disturbing, lol the purpose of cleaning is to clean..

 

[~Phoenix Death~]

 

[robosariobo777]

water..or for stuff that is kind of stuck, use a q-tip. and scrub

 

[RealDeal]

When I clean my cubes, i just disassemble it and just put the edge pieces and corner pieces into a plastic container filled halfway with warm water. I then close the container and shake it for a good 30 seconds. I then clean the pieces with a q-tip and dry it with a towel, For the core i just use a q-tip dipped in warm water to clean it and use a towel to dry it.

 

[iChanZer0]

tooth brush